


in apple blossom time

by yuhaholic



Category: PRISTIN (Band)
Genre: F/F, Time Loop, but what's new, eunwoo being an idiot, guys. i love time loops. So Much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-20 18:56:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17627789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuhaholic/pseuds/yuhaholic
Summary: Eunwoo can't get past October 26, and neither can Yebin.





	in apple blossom time

**Author's Note:**

> this was inspired by a young justice fan fiction i read a while ago lol and it's been in my google docs for like seven months but i just got around to finishing it

1.

Eunwoo wakes up late. She knows this because of the clock sitting on her nightstand that’s telling her that it’s 9:30AM in big, red, digital numbers. The date October 26 is right under it.

“Morning, sleepyhead!” The door opens and Kyulkyung walks in, crossing the room to open up the curtains in the window. Sunlight filters in and bounces off of the white walls, almost blinding Eunwoo. “I’m leaving soon, you should get up now if you want to make it to work on time.”

“Bold of you to assume that I would ever want that,” Eunwoo mumbles. She rubs her eyes and watches Kyulkyung pick up some of the clothing from the floor. “Bitch, can you leave?”

“I’ll put your stuff in the laundry bag, but you need to go down and do it yourself,” Kyulkyung tells her before stepping out. “Put on a new bra before you go to work.”

She closes the door and Eunwoo rolls out of her bed to do as she’s told. She can hear Kyulkyung give a faint “Bye-bye!” and the door opens and closes.

Eunwoo gets herself ready for the day and goes into the maine suite of her dorm to find that there’s a mug of coffee ready for her on the small table in the center of the room. She thinks that Kyulkyung might care about her too much.

Her phone buzzes at 9:48AM and she grabs it to find a new text message.

 **yebin:** i’m going to mcD’s before work want me to get something for u?

 **eunwoo:** hash browns pls!!!!!!!!

 **eunwoo:** and oj

 **yebin:** i gotchu

 **eunwoo:** ily

 **yebin:** i kno

 

Eunwoo is the one that opens up the shop when she gets there. She unlocks the door and flips the sign to advertise that they are Open.

Business is slow. It’s usually slow, since she works at a very small flower shop on an off road.

Yebin comes in at 10:20AM with sunglasses perched on her head and a big white plastic bag from McDonald’s on her arm.

“What’s up, bitch?” she says, kicking the door closed behind her. “I come bearing sweet gifts.”

Eunwoo abandons her spot behind the counter to sit with Yebin at a metal table, clearing it of vases and bouquets.

“I almost forgot to pay,” Yebin says, around a bite of her bacon, egg, and cheese McGriddle. “I literally drove right past the pay window and the girl was like ‘ _McScuse me, bitch?’_ ”

“Well, yeah, dude, you kind of have to pay for goods and services in a capitalist society,” Eunwoo says. She pulls a hash brown out of the bag and makes a fist. “I just nutted so hard.”

Yebin snickers. “You’re so stupid.”

“Breaking news, dumbass: fire is hot. The kettle is black,” Eunwoo says. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

 

Both of their shifts end at three and Yebin has to go to her afternoon calculus class, so Eunwoo goes back to her dorm alone. She doesn’t have any classes on Friday. She studies for a little bit and then does her laundry.

Her phone rings at 5:19PM. The caller ID is Kim Minkyung, Yebin’s roommate.

“Hello,” Eunwoo says after she swipes across the screen to pick up.

There’s commotion going on on the other end of the line. “Eunwoo, something’s happened.”

“What do you mean?” Eunwoo asks.

“There was a shooter on campus, Yebin didn’t -”

Eunwoo’s heart stops and she almost throws up. Anything else that Minkyung says get lost somewhere in the air between the phone and her ear. All those years hearing about this on the news and watching it happen to other people, and for some reason, Eunwoo never thought, never even comprehended, that it could happen to her, let alone Yebin. Yebin was always so happy and carefree, it seemed like nothing could ever happen to her.

Eunwoo lies back on her bed so that she can pretend that she’s not crying for a little while and stares at the ceiling.

She falls asleep there.

 

2.

“Morning, sleepyhead! I’m leaving soon, you should get up now if you want to make it to work on time.”

Eunwoo feels like she’s actually dying. There’s a throbbing pain in the back of her head and she remembers what happened yesterday and she can’t handle Kyulkyung right now.

“I don’t even have work today,” she says, the words muffled by her blanket. “Just leave me alone.”

The bed dips as Kyulkyung sits down beside her. “Hey, is everything okay?”

Eunwoo doesn’t respond beyond grunting into her pillow.

“Wanna talk about it?” Kyulkyung asks, and Eunwoo doesn’t actually want to talk about it so she doesn’t say anything. “I can stay if you want. I just have to study for English, but I can have my friend send me everything.”

“No,” Eunwoo manages to get out. She doesn’t want Kyulkyung to miss anything because she’s being a crybaby. “You can go.”

“Okay.” Kyulkyung doesn’t sound convinced but she gets up anyways. “I’ll be back in two hours.”

Eunwoo lies in bed for a while longer, just festering in her sadness.

Her phone buzzes but she doesn’t feel like interacting with anyone so she leaves it.

It buzzes again.

And again.

And again.

Eunwoo lets out a big sigh and grabs her phone from the nightstand. Four new text messages.

 **yebin:** i’m going to mcD’s before work want me to get something for u?

 **yebin:** bro i’m next in line pls respond

 **yebin:** i’m getting u hash browns.

 **yebin:** whore

Eunwoo’s blood runs cold. Someone is playing a sick fucking joke on her and she really can’t handle that.

But then she glances at her clock and her breath catches in her throat.

It tells her that it’s 9:51AM. October 26.

Eunwoo jumps out of her bed and rushes into the main suite of her dorm. There’s coffee on the table. She looks around and then goes into Kyulkyung’s room. There’s a calendar on the wall that’s only crossed out until October 25.

 

“Did you take the fucking scenic route today?” Yebin asks from behind the counter. Eunwoo stands in the door of the shop, she’s wearing mismatching socks and she hasn’t washed her face yet. “Oh, damn, you look like shit. Want some orange juice?”

Eunwoo doesn’t say anything, she just walks forward and fishes a hash brown out of Yebin’s McDonald’s bag. Yebin laughs awkwardly and just leaves her be.

 

Eunwoo hugs Yebin when they part ways at 3:00PM. Yebin doesn’t say anything. She just hugs Eunwoo back.

Eunwoo goes back to her dorm. She doesn’t study, she doesn’t do her laundry. She sits on the couch and stares at the clock.

 _Yesterday was just a dream,_ she tells herself. _It’ll be okay._

At 5:19PM, her phone rings.

 

5.

Eunwoo is already awake but she’s still in bed, staring at the wall. She’s waiting for Kyulkyung to come in and get her first.

“Hey, sleepyhead! I’m leaving soon, you should get up now if you want to make it to work on time.”

“Bold of you to assume that I would ever want that,” Eunwoo replies flatly. “I’m gonna do my laundry today.”

Kyulkyung raises her eyebrows. “Wow, okay. I’m proud of you. Don’t forget your underwear again.”

When Yebin texts her, she asks for hash browns and orange juice.

 

“What’s up, bitch?” Yebin says. “I come bearing sweet gifts.”

“You always do,” Eunwoo replies, leaning forward on the counter.

 

“I’ll sit in on class with you today,” Eunwoo says when they’re getting ready to leave at 2:58PM.

Yebin looks surprised. “Okay.”

 

Halfway through the lecture, Eunwoo realizes that if she stays, she’ll have to watch Yebin die. She whispers a flimsy excuse about having to do her laundry and sneaks out the back door.

 

Her phone rings at 5:32PM today.

 

7.

“Skip class,” Eunwoo says.

Yebin hangs up her apron. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” Eunwoo asks. “It’s just calculus.”

“Yeah, which I suck at,” Yebin shoots back. “I can’t fail another quiz.”

“Get a friend to send you notes later,” Eunwoo suggests.

“Why? What do you want me to do for you?” Yebin says, crossing her arms.

Eunwoo hadn’t planned that far out. “Um. I want to get dinner at that new Thai place.”

“Okay,” Yebin says slowly. “I’ll pick you up after class.”

“It closes at five,” Eunwoo lies. She doesn’t even know if there’s a Thai restaurant in town.

Yebin sighs. “We can go tomorrow?”

“Come on, it’s not a big deal,” Eunwoo insists. “You can literally get notes later, please, I really wanna go.”

“Tomorrow, I promise we’ll go, but I have to go to this class,” Yebin says sadly.

 

Eunwoo gets the call at 5:19PM.

 

10.

 **yebin:** i’m going to mcD’s before work want me to get u something?

 **eunwoo:** i’m not going to work today

 **yebin:** hey fuck u mate

 **yebin:** why

 **eunwoo:** don’t feel like it

 **eunwoo:** come get breakfast with me

 **yebin:** …

 **yebin:** okay

 

Eunwoo fails to convince Yebin to skip class again.

 

She gets the call at 5:19PM.

 

15.

“Morning, sleepyhead! I’m leaving soon, you should get up now if you want to make it to work on time.”

“I’m stuck in a time loop.”

Kyulkyung shrieks when she sees that Eunwoo is sitting up in her bed.

“Jesus christ, I thought you were asleep,” she snaps.

“I’m stuck in a time loop,” Eunwoo repeats. “This is my fifteenth time reliving this day.”

“Are you high?” Kyulkyung asks.

“No, stupid, I don’t even know how to get high,” Eunwoo scoffs. “I’m being serious.”

“Okay, well, prove it,” Kyulkyung says.

Eunwoo blinks. She’s never spent the day with Kyulkyung before. She has no idea how Kyulkyung’s day goes.

“Yebin texts me at 9:48 saying that she’s going to McDonald’s and asks me if I want anything,” she says.

“I can’t stay till 9:48, I have class at ten,” Kyulkyung says.

“Skip class, it’s just English, you can ask your friend to send you notes later,” Eunwoo says.

Kyulkyung seems to consider this. “Fine. Scoot over,” she finally decides. She climbs under the covers with Eunwoo and pulls a pillow into her lap. “What’s happened?”

“Everyday, Yebin dies,” Eunwoo tells her. “There’s a shooter on campus when her class finishes and she gets killed.”

Kyulkyung looks horrified. “That’s not funny, Eunwoo.”

“I’m not being funny, I’m telling you the truth,” Eunwoo insists. “Minkyung calls me at 5:19 to tell me that she’s died.”

“I can’t figure out if you’re being serious or if you’re playing a sick joke on me right now,” Kyulkyung admits.

“I promise I’m not joking,” Eunwoo says, and her voice cracks a bit. “Minkyung calls me everyday at the same time to tell me the same thing, and you’d think that it gets easier, but it doesn’t. It’s like I’m being sucker punched by a brick each time and I can’t figure out how to stop it from happening. I’ve tried to convince her to not go to class but she won’t listen to me. I don’t know what to do.”

Kyulkyung deflates and reaches out to grab Eunwoo’s hands. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s like I can’t save her because for some reason she doesn’t want to be saved,” Eunwoo continues. She feels tears forming in her eyes. “There’s nothing I can do and I try so hard, but none of it ever matters.”

“There’s gotta be a way to get out of this,” Kyulkyung assures her. “You just have to figure it out.”

 

 **yebin:** i’m going to mcD’s before work want me to get u something?

 **eunwoo:** sick today sorry

 **yebin:** boo you whore

 **yebin:** feel better x

 

Kyulkyung and Eunwoo are sitting together on the couch when Eunwoo’s phone rings at 5:19PM.

 

20.

 **eunwoo:** we’re going to the beach today

 **yebin:** tf? it’s cold tho

 **eunwoo:** i’m bringing blankets

 **yebin:** we have work??

 **eunwoo:** not today

 **eunwoo:** late bday present

 **yebin:** lmao ily u stupid bitch

 

They’re sitting on top of a circular beach blanket that Kyulkyung bought a while ago because it had cherries on it, which she thought was cute. Yebin still got food from McDonald’s so they’re sharing a deluxe breakfast.

“I haven’t been to the beach in months,” Yebin says.

“Really?” Eunwoo takes a sip of her orange juice. “When was the last time you were here?”

“In, like, July, with my mom,” Yebin replies. She looks up at the gray sky. “It’s so different. It’s colder now.”

“Well, yeah, I mean, that’s kinda how seasons work,” Eunwoo says. She shifts closer to Yebin when there’s a particularly strong gust of wind.

“Thank you,” Yebin says.

Eunwoo looks at her. “For what?”

“For caring.”

 

Yebin insists on going to class again.

 

Eunwoo gets the call at 5:19PM.

 

25.

Eunwoo wakes up and looks at the clock. It’s 7:43AM, much earlier than she’s ever woken up. She’s tried so many times to convince Yebin to skip class that, at this point, she isn’t even sure what to do anymore.

 

 **eunwoo:** convince yebin that she’s sick today

 **minkyung:** Lmao? Why?

 **eunwoo:** don’t let her leave your apartment. something bad is going to happen

 **minkyung:** Are you psychic now

 **eunwoo:** i’m being serious

 **minkyung:** Ok i’ll try

 **minkyung:** Is this some weird proxy munchausens thing that’s happening right now?

 **eunwoo:** i might explain it to you later

 **eunwoo:** just trust me

 

When Minkyung opens the door, she’s looking partly amused and partly concerned.

“Yebin is in her bed with a fever,” she says as she lets Eunwoo in. “You wanna tell me what all of this is about?”

“I’m stuck in a time loop,” Eunwoo says. Minkyung stares at her, waiting for her to elaborate. “I’ve been living this day over and over and everyday there’s a shooter on campus and you call me at 5:19 to tell me that Yebin dies.”

Minkyung frowns. “I’m not saying I believe you, but I’m very interested in how this turns out.”

“How’d you convince her that she has a fever?” Eunwoo asks.

“She’s so fucking stupid, I could tell her that her name is Robert and she would believe me,” Minkyung scoffs. “But no, I put a hot towel on her forehead before she woke up. You better be telling the truth or I’m gonna feel like a total asshole.”

“It’ll all work out if Yebin’s alive at the end of the day,” Eunwoo assures her.

“Who’s the shooter?” Minkyung asks.

“Huh?” Eunwoo asks. She’s never even thought about that. The shooter always remained a faceless villain in her mind, the person who kills her best friend.

“Who’s the shooter?” Minkyung repeats. “You said there’s a shooter on campus. Who is it? Maybe if we call the police, they can arrest them before they even get to campus with a gun.”

Eunwoo lets out an incredulous laugh. “I should have come to you before Kyulkyung.”

 

Yebin says she feels well enough to go to class in the afternoon and no one can stop her from leaving the apartment.

 

Eunwoo is with Minkyung when she gets a call at 5:06PM.

 

The news airs the picture of a boy named Justin Summerville later that evening.

 

26.

“9-1-1, what is your emergency?”

“There’s a boy that goes to my school named Justin Summerville. He has a gun and he’s planning a school shooting later today.”

 

 _This is it,_ Eunwoo thinks. _I saved her. I saved everyone._

 

A telephone pole falls outside the math building.

 

Her phone rings at 5:28PM.

 

27.

Eunwoo wakes up feeling like death. It’s not a good feeling.

She doesn’t know what went wrong. Justin Summerville was caught. No one died or was hurt because of him.

Yebin still died.

She isn’t sure what she’s supposed to do about it now.

She listens to Kyulkyung when she comes in to wake her up but doesn’t say anything. Kyulkyung leaves without being worried.

 

 **yebin:** i’m going to mcD’s before work want me to get u something?

 **eunwoo:** not going to work today

 **yebin:** uh why tf not??

 **eunwoo:** visiting my mom for the weekend

 **yebin:** fuck you

 **eunwoo:** sorry

 **yebin:** tell ur mom i say hi

 

Eunwoo spends all day in bed. She doesn’t eat breakfast and she doesn’t do her laundry. Kyulkyung doesn’t even know she’s there when she comes home for lunch.

 

All she does is call the police to let them know about Justin Summerville.

 

Two gunmen try to rob the store that day.

 

Her phone rings at 3:02PM.

 

30.

It’s easy to convince Yebin to not go to work.

They go to the park and Eunwoo’s heart beats faster every time Yebin smiles, which is a lot because she smiles whenever she sees a dog and there are a lot of dogs at the park.

They walk along the concrete path set in between the fields of grass until it reaches an end at a big, empty amphitheatre.

“Go up there and sing something,” Yebin says, pushing Eunwoo towards the stage.

Eunwoo does, but grabs Yebin’s hands as she walks up the steps. “Only if you sing it with me.”

Yebin grins as she climbs up onto the stage beside Eunwoo. They’re standing face to face, still holding hands, only a couple feet apart, and Eunwoo feels her face get warm.

 _“I’ll be with you,”_ Yebin sings, leaning back on her heels. Her voice is deep but slightly nasally. _“In apple blossom time. I’ll be with you to change your name to mine.”_

 

There’s a fire in Minkyung and Yebin’s apartment building.

 

She gets the call at 8:27PM.

 

35.

“I got us tickets to _Mamma Mia!_ at the Aladdin downtown,” Eunwoo says as Yebin walks into the store. “Doors open at 2:30.”

Yebin looks pleasantly surprised. “What’s the occasion?”

“Just wanted to spend some time with you,” Eunwoo says and Yebin laughs. “And I made you pay for your own birthday dinner last week.”

“I have class today,” Yebin points out.

Eunwoo holds the tickets up. “Is calculus really more important than ABBA?”

“Fuck you, you know I can’t say no to ABBA,” Yebin says.

 

Eunwoo doesn’t particularly care about money anymore since it all comes back when she wakes up in the morning, so their seats are in the first row of the balcony. She nearly had to sell her kidney to get them that morning.

Yebin’s face when they sit down makes it all worth it. Her eyes are sparkling and she can’t keep herself from smiling. She mouths along to the songs and half of the dialogue as well. Her fingers tap against her thigh along to the beat.

 

This is the first time it’s happened while Eunwoo is there.

Yebin is driving and Eunwoo is sitting in the passenger’s seat, listening to her go on about how much she loved the show.

Everything happens very quickly. They’re moving forward and then there’s a car hitting them on the driver’s side and Eunwoo’s blood runs cold because she knows this is it.

 

She wakes up in a hospital bed.

When she asks about her friend in the car with her, the nurse gives her the bad news.

It’s 6:51PM when she’s allowed to leave the hospital.

 

40.

Eunwoo continues to call the police about Justin Summerville. He’s caught at 12:17PM everyday.

 

45.

“Remember when we met?” Yebin asks.

They’re sitting shoulder to shoulder in the amphitheater with their feet dangling off of the stage.

“Yeah,” Eunwoo says. “We were on the same soccer team and our moms forced us to be friends because we’re both Korean.”

“The first time we hung out, we did karaoke in your living room,” Yebin says.

“I won,” Eunwoo recalls.

“It wasn’t a competition,” Yebin says.

“It was until you realized that I’m a better singer than you,” Eunwoo replies.

Yebin rolls her eyes. “Whatever. That was the first time I heard that song.”

Eunwoo turns to look at Yebin. “What song?”

“That old time-y Vera Lynn song,” Yebin says. “It was the song that you sang. I did _Tik Tok_ by Ke$ha.”

“True artistry,” Eunwoo remarks. “Why didn’t we become famous?”

“Probably because we’re too stupid,” Yebin says.

“Valid,” Eunwoo agrees. “Remember when I dared you to drink from a puddle?”

Yebin makes a face. “Yeah, I drank from a puddle. I got a stomach bug. I could have gotten worms.”

“Hey, I broke my arm because you dared me to climb that old gnarly tree in your front yard,” Eunwoo points out.

“I didn’t dare you to climb that tree,” Yebin argues.

“You basically did.”

“No, I didn’t!”

“You said ‘I bet you six dollars you can’t make it to the top of that tree.’”

Yebin laughs. “You could have just given me the six dollars.”

“I was nine, I didn’t have any dollars!” Eunwoo scoffs.

“That’s not my fault,” Yebin says.

Yebin grins as Eunwoo pushes her shoulder.

Eunwoo realizes that she’s been in love with Yebin for a really long time.

 

46.

Eunwoo has to wonder if this is hell - spending days with Yebin, falling in love with her everyday, and losing her just as quickly.

 

47.

“I’m in a time loop.”

Yebin puts her bag of McDonald’s down on the metal table. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Eunwoo watches as Yebin starts pulling the food out. “You die every time.”

Yebin slowly sets a deluxe breakfast down and looks at Eunwoo carefully.

“How?” she asks finally.

“At first you got shot,” Eunwoo says. “It’s been different recently though.”

Yebin nods and sits down. “How many times?”

“Forty-seven today,” Eunwoo says.

“Have you told me before?” Yebin asks.

“No,” Eunwoo says. “This is the first time I’ve told you.”

“Have you ever been able to stop it?” Yebin asks.

“No,” Eunwoo says. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Yebin tells her. “You’re not killing me.”

Eunwoo’s heart breaks. “I’m not keeping you alive either.”

 

48.

Today they go to a history museum.

Eunwoo lets Yebin drag her around and blabber on and on about all the dinosaurs that she knows about.

They have lunch at the museum cafe where there are overpriced sandwiches and lavender lemonade.

There’s a rose garden in the back and Yebin makes Eunwoo take pictures of her for Instagram, and then politely asks someone else to take a picture of the both of them.

They go to see a feature on King Tut in the theater and Eunwoo finds herself watching Yebin rather than the movie.

 

49.

“I feel like maybe I’m being punished,” Eunwoo says. She stares at the ceiling for a bit before turning to Hansol. “What do you think?”

Hansol looks up from his magazine. “Huh?”

“Fuck, man, this is why I never hang out with you,” Eunwoo grumbles. “You never listen to me.”

“We’ve actually never hung out before, but go off, I guess.” Hansol tosses his magazine aside. “I’m listening now, lay it on me, bro.”

“I think I’m being punished,” Eunwoo repeats. “Like, I’m making all these great memories with Yebin and legit falling in love with her, but she never remembers any of it, you know? I’m suffering.”

“I mean, this could be a _Groundhog Day_ scenario where you need to learn to be a better person, but you’re not that bad to begin with,” Hansol says. “I don’t think you’re being punished and I don’t think you need to learn how to be a better person, but I think you’re supposed to learn something.”

“Yeah?” Eunwoo resists the urge to roll her eyes. “And what am I supposed to be learning?”

“Dude, I don’t know,” Hansol admits. “I don’t know you well enough to psychoanalyze you yet, and judging by where you are right now, I won’t for a while.”

“I’m suffering so much, I don’t know what to do,” Eunwoo complains. She rolls over onto her stomach. “It’s not just that she doesn’t remember, she fucking dies everyday.”

Hansol stares at her blankly. “Have you ever tried to tell her?”

“Yeah, it didn’t do shit, she still died,” Eunwoo says.

“No, duh, of course you’ve told her about the time loop before,” Hansol says, waving a hand. “Have you told her that you’re in love with her?”

Eunwoo looks at him, horrified. “Excuse me?”

“Look, man, I’m obviously not your first choice in people to talk to about basically anything,” Hansol explains, and he’s right. He’s just some guy from her philosophy class that she’d literally never spoken to before this. She noticed him sitting alone in the Korean Student Union lounge and just decided to sit down next to him so neither of them would be lonely. “And this is, what, your fiftieth -”

“Forty-ninth.”

“- time going through all this shit? You must have tried anything you could think of to get out of this. If you haven’t told her that you’re in love with her yet, it might be the way to go. It’s at least worth a try.”

“Absolutely not,” Eunwoo says. “Yebin - she’s - I can’t do that.”

“Why?” Hansol asks. “What do you think might happen if you do?”

“I don’t know,” Eunwoo admits.

Hansol sighs. “And, hey, if that’s not what breaks this, it’s not like anyone is ever going to remember any of this.”

“I will,” Eunwoo states. “And I will think about it a lot.”

“Do you want to stay stuck in this forever?” Hansol asks.

“Of course not, asswipe,” Eunwoo says.

“Then you gotta keep trying anything you can,” Hansol tells her. “Because it honestly sounds like you’re kind of liking this limbo that you’re in.”

“What the fuck, man?” Eunwoo snaps. “You know I hate this.”

“Prove it,” Hansol says challengingly. “Do something about it.”

Eunwoo has no idea what to say and just sinks a bit into the couch. “This is bullshit.”

“I never see you outside of class,” Hansol states. “I didn’t think that you ever really left the humanities building, I always thought you were a ghost that haunted the halls or whatever. I had this theory that you’re dead. Hey, dude, maybe you are dead? And you’re in limbo.”

Eunwoo laughs a bit. “I guess I am dead. Just a little bit,” she admits.

Hansol is silent for a bit before he nods and gives Eunwoo’s  thigh a comforting pat. “That’s okay,” he says quietly. “It’s okay that you’re a little bit dead.”

There’s something in the way he says it that makes Eunwoo believe him. He isn’t prying, he doesn’t want to know everything. Hansol isn’t stupid in any sense of the word. He knows a lot more than he lets on.

“I’m a little bit dead too.”

 

50.

What Hansol said stays with Eunwoo. She’s tried plenty of things. She’s spent the whole day with Yebin, she’s avoided Yebin completely, she’s acted like nothing was wrong.

The only thing she can think of that she hasn’t done is confessing.

But that terrifies her. She and Yebin have been friends for a very long time. They’ve been a package deal for a very long time. They’re normal and they’re cement and they’re EunwooandYebin. She can’t bear the thought of changing that.

She should have known that Hansol would have said something like that. He’s always been intuitive and wise and very, very strange to her.

And he’s right. She has to keep trying. She can’t stay in a time loop forever.

She won’t.

 

“What’s on your mind?” Yebin asks. They’re sitting across from each other in a 24 hour iHop. It’s 11:30PM and Eunwoo still hasn’t gotten up the nerve to say anything to Yebin. She can’t imagine what might happen in the next half hour that could kill her.

Eunwoo looks over at her boredly. “Huh?”

“You’ve been quiet for, like, thirty minutes,” Yebin says. “Something’s gotta give. What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing,” Eunwoo replies. Yebin doesn’t believe her. “I don’t know. I’m just stressed, I guess.”

“School?” Yebin prods, poking at her pancakes.

“No.” Eunwoo’s studied so much that she thinks she could probably take all of her finals right now and pass. “Just… other stuff. I don’t know, it’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid if it’s got you this bummed out,” Yebin says. “Talk to me, man.”

Yebin’s looking at her with her big brown eyes, so pure and genuine that Eunwoo actually feels her heart melt in her chest.

“I don’t know how to say this,” she says.

“It’s okay,” Yebin says. “We’ve got time.”

And they sure do have time. Lots of it.

“I think I’m in love with you,” Eunwoo finally says after making Yebin wait a couple more minutes.

Yebin takes a little while to process it before responding with, “You think?”

“Well, I mean, you’re, like, my best friend, so yeah I’ve kind of loved you since we were nine, and feelings are hard to sort out,” Eunwoo says listlessly. “But I don’t think I realized that I’m in love with you until recently.”

Yebin narrows her eyes at Eunwoo like she’s still not sure what’s going on. “Huh. When exactly was this figured out?”

“God, could you, like, give me a response first?” Eunwoo requests. “I’m kinda flipping like a fish out of water here.”

“Dude.” Yebin gives Eunwoo a stupid smile. “I’ve been in love with you since high school.”

Eunwoo’s heart skips a beat or two. “What?”

“I asked you out in, like, tenth grade, and I guess you thought it was a joke, but it really wasn’t,” Yebin explains. “Neither of us have ever dated anyone, I just thought I’d let it be.”

Eunwoo feels like an idiot, which isn’t new, she always feels like an idiot because she is an idiot, but this is a whole other level of how-fucking-stupid-can-you-get.

“Are you serious?” she asks, her voice high pitched and strained.

“Yeah?” Yebin says. “There’s literally no reason for me to be lying right now.”

Eunwoo can’t think of anything to say and they sit in silence.

“Well, I’m gonna go pay,” Yebin says, getting up. “You think about that for a while and I’ll be back.”

Eunwoo could almost hit herself. All this time and she never knew. Yebin _asked her out_ in tenth grade and she had no idea. Maybe Hansol really was right. This was what she was supposed to learn.

When Yebin gets back, she has to pull Eunwoo away from the table and out into the parking lot.

“Are you okay?” Yebin asks. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable but I felt like I had to tell you, considering where the conversation was going.”

“I’m not uncomfortable,” Eunwoo assures her. “I’m not upset. I just feel so stupid.”

“I can’t imagine that that’s a foreign feeling for you,” Yebin says, almost laughing.

Eunwoo lets out a pained laugh and runs her hand through her hair. “It really isn’t.”

“We don’t have to do anything,” Yebin tells her. She puts her hands on Eunwoo’s shoulders and pulls her forward to rest their foreheads against each other. “We know that we love each other, right? That’s what matters.”

“This is super romantic,” Eunwoo whispers.

“Yeah, gross, huh?” Yebin says, grinning. “Wanna kiss about it?”

Yebin’s watch beeps then, letting them know that it’s midnight and Eunwoo snorts.

“Shit, I need to figure how to turn that off,” Yebin mutters, pulling away to look down at her wrist. “Do you know how to turn it off? I don’t know how and I already threw away the manual.”

Eunwoo pulls her phone out of her pocket and checks it to see that it’s 12:00AM, October 27.

October 27.

“Do you think I could Google it?” Yebin asks, still messing with her watch.

Eunwoo grabs Yebin by the neck and leans down to kiss her.

 

++

 

“Hansol!” Eunwoo catches up to him and he pulls his earphones out. “Hey! So glad I caught you.”

Hansol narrows his eyes. “Okay?”

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Eunwoo tells him.

“For what?” Hansol asks.

“For caring.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> visit me on Tumblr @yuhaholic !!


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